Minaya Staying With Montreal

The Red Sox should have known something wasn't right when they received permission to speak to Expos general manager Omar Minaya last week but hadn't heard from him.

Minaya, 43, told Red Sox president Larry Lucchino Friday that he was not interested in being Boston's GM.

Red Sox spokesman Kevin Shea said Lucchino and Minaya had a lengthy conversation. Minaya, who is vacationing in Italy, wants to stay with the Expos.

``Omar indicated they finished in second place and he feels there's unfinished business there,'' Shea said. ``Acknowledging what a great job the Boston job would be, he just doesn't feel like he wants to jump ship right now.''

Though he has not entirely ruled it out, baseball executive Sandy Alderson has said he is not interested in the job. Another name being mentioned is Yankees vice president of major league scouting Gene Michael, although it's unlikely owner George Steinbrenner would allow one of his top aides to leave and take a job with the Red Sox.

Floyd To File

The search for a GM is taking a toll on other matters such as re-signing outfielder Cliff Floyd, who is eligible for free agency.

A source said Floyd is planning to file for free agency and hopes to sign a contract for at least five years.

``He obviously would like to remain with the Boston Red Sox,'' the source said Friday. ``But right now I don't think they're sure exactly who's going to be their general manager, whether it's Mike Port or somebody else. Maybe they have other issues they have to iron out. But they've expressed interest in getting Cliff and Cliff really enjoyed his time in Boston.''

Floyd, 29, hit .316 in 47 games with the Red Sox and his .374 on-base percentage and .561 slugging percentage were second on the team behind Manny Ramirez.